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UGLY KID JOE
Rad Wings Of Destiny

Metalville (2022)
Rating: 6/10

Sounding more like AC/DC than AC/DC, California rockers Ugly Kid Joe announce their return after a seven year gap with their fifth full-length album and the stomping opening track ‘That Ain’t Livin’.

However, the issue here is immediate – just who are Ugly Kid Joe? Missing out on the “alterno” metal years, the band had their breakthrough in 1992 with their hit ‘Everything About You’, but it was one of those annoyingly tepid and pop-edged singalongs lacking any sort of seriousness, and in spite of sporadic releases ever since I’ve always seen Ugly Kid Joe as the band I never really liked.

Was it the humour? The album covers? Or just the music that flitted between styles but instead of boasting fluidity it just all seemed calculated and weak. And here we are again with another silly album title, more silly artwork and a mish-mash of tracks that just don’t fit together.

The glam plod of ‘Not Like The Other’ is okayish and frontman Whitfield Crane displays versatility, but it’s the sort of croon that a thousand goofy, face-pulling singers tried at the tail-end of the Faith No More ‘Epic’ craze. ‘Dead Friends Play’ resurrects AC/DC again as does ‘Failure’, while ‘Everything’s Changing’ is evidence that the band can be serious. The latter is a breezy ballad of sorts that sways with the wind and plays nicely along with the opening nuances of ‘Kill The Pain’ which unravels as a grunge-soaked, expansive rocker.

Suddenly I’m interested, but it never lasts. The cover of The Kinks classic ‘Lola’ is pointless but does sort of back up the theory that the band works better as a covers act. Rad Wings Of Destiny suggests a band that somehow hasn’t moved on from that mid-90s sugary drift whereby tracks such as ‘Up In The City’ waft like dreamy Beatles / Oasis-styled vapours toying with syrupy American middle of the road college rock.

‘Long Road’ sees the band exploring the country rock theme again. It’s tiresome, flaky and confused but it sums up Ugly Kid Joe, a band I may have appreciated more if they’d hit me circa 1989 even though there were so many far more intelligent and evocative bands to treasure.

This record feels dated already, never fully comfortable in its skin, but those fans who still slap on ‘Everything About You’ and bop along will no doubt line-up in their dozens to purchase this mediocre ball of pop rock.

Neil Arnold

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